


A Knights Journey

by Roxas143



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Blood and Gore, Dragons, F/F, F/M, Goblins, Happy Sex, Harpies, Orcs, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Fiction, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Sex, Royalty, Sex, Vampires, animal/human hybrids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-01-06 03:49:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21220082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxas143/pseuds/Roxas143
Summary: The great Kingdom of Lograth a nice and peaceful kingdom and the home of the Holy Order. It is here where the story begins. A tale of a young knights quest to vanquish the evil that threatens the kingdom and the lands that surround it. The question is...What is the true evil threatening the kingdom?





	1. It All Begins

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I know I haven't really been putting out chapters for a bit and I apologize for that, been dealing with Writers block kinda, I've started a bunch of ideas some I've typed a lot and others I haven't. However this one is an idea that I've had in the back of my head for a long time and I really wanted to go through with this. Now i'll say this most of these chapters probably won't be as long as this first one at least I don't think they will be. But like I said I wanted to do this story for awhile.
> 
> Now with What Happens in Smash World Stays in Smash World and Kingdom Hearts 3 - After The Battle, I will still work on those however Kingdom Hearts might be a it slower. I plan to also do a couple Horror stories for Halloween and put them into a collection like the Smash Bros one.
> 
> Anyways I hope you all enjoy this beginning chapter and stick around for more. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think about the story! I really appreciate it!

It was a nice and fairly calm day in the castle town of the kingdom of Lograth. The sun shone brightly and the wind blew a gentle breeze as the people of the kingdom went about their day doing whatever it was that they usually do whether it was shopping in the market district or running a bar, everyone was always doing something.

However this is not where the story begins, it begins behind the castle where the Royal Knights gathered usually for their daily training and many other things. It was here where a group of low ranking knights who had not been enlisted into the Royal Knights had gathered waiting in one of the tents outside.

One knight was a young man with white skin, long black hair, brown eyes, wearing a sleeveless brown and black leather tunic over a white long-sleeved shirt, brown pants, and tan leather boots. He was reading a book that he had taken with him in the bag carried that hung from his left shoulder, an iron sword holstered in a sheathe on his back. 

“Ezekiel Morrow!” A loud voice called out from outside of the tent 

The young man with long black hair looked up before he closed his book and placed it into his bag. Her then got up and walked out of the tent to see a Royal Knight with white shining armor waiting for him “Follow me to the throne room please.” The man said his helm making his voice deeper then it probably was.

“Y-Yes sir!” Ezekiel said as he followed the Royal Knight. It was very obvious to everyone that saw Ezekiel that he had a look of nervousness etched on his face, it was his first time being this close to the castle and meeting any Royal Knights in person.

“First time here eh?” The Royal Knight escorting Ezekiel asked chuckling as they walked   
  
“Y-Yes sir!” Ezekiel gave a quick answer “I mostly lived outside of the town and in a small village.”

“Really now?” The Royal Knight asked “What’s the village called?”

“Haven.” Ezekiel said smiling a little “It’s a nice and peaceful village. It’s small but I really liked it there.”

“Heh less noise then here I imagine.” The Royal Knight said “However I must say it’s rather impressive that you’ve made it this far up the ranks, especially at your age.”

“Ah it’s nothing I just kept working hard just like everyone else.” Ezekiel said scratching the back of his head “So umm...What’s your name if you don’t mind me asking…”

“Ah! Right I never did introduce myself!” The man said as he stopped walking and then turned to Ezekiel before taking off his helm to reveal that he had short grey hair, white skin, small white mustache and blue eyes “My name is Gerald Verdlan!”  
  
Ezekiel’s eyes widened at this “The same Gerald Verdlan that took out the savage Orc Warchief Kartal!?” He asked in shock 

Gerald looked at him a bit taken aback by his reaction “Y-You remember that?” He asked

“Of course! Who doesn’t know!?” Ezekiel replied with a grin before he pulled the book that he was reading back out of his bag and showed it to Gerald. The title of the book was _ “Tales of the Gallant Royal Knights.” _

Gerald looked at the book and then laughed “Hahaha! I never thought anyone red those old books still!” He said with a smile, “Well then you truly are an interesting one!”

“Do you two really have the time to be standing here in the hallway and talking instead of going to his majesty in the throne room?” A new more serious male voice said causing the two to turn around to see another Royal Knight however his a was a dark blue color, his helm was off so the two could see his dark brown hair, white skin and amber eyes “Really now sir Gerald you shouldn’t keep him waiting.”  
  
“Ah right...Sorry Joseph just bonding with the young man who will be accompanying us is all.” Gerald said sighing before looking at Ezekiel “Ezekiel Morrow meet Sir Joseph Grinten.”

Joseph looked at Ezekiel “Ah I've heard about you, the young knight who managed to protect a group of traders from an bandit ambush yes?” He asked looked at Ezekiel now.

Ezekiel nodded “Yes and you helped defend the King from an attack on one of the forts he was visiting right?” He asked “You did so by setting up various traps and directing some of the other knights with cunning strategic knowledge.”

Joseph looked at him, “My my it seems that book keeps you well informed.” He said chuckling “But yes, the battle of Fort Hydlin is the one your talking about but enough talking we should go see his majesty.  
  
The three then began walking to the throne room which was a few steps ahead of where Ezekiel and Gerald stopped to talk to each other. Once they made it to the doors Gerald opened them to see another Royal Knight this one had dark green armor, medium length blonde hair and carried a spear on his back. “Ah so you finally show up huh?”

“Sorry we’re late Dylan...Is his Majesty-” Before Joseph could finish his speech the sound of someone clearing their throat was heard across from them. The groups gaze turned toward the throne where the king sat, he was a rather old man with tan skin, he had long grey hair accompanied by a beard and mustache of the same color, he wore a royal red robe” and sat atop his head was a golden crown decorated with many different colored gems. “Ah! Your majesty!” 

Ezekiel gulped as he looked at the king _ “His majesty Richard Lawrence…” _ He said in his mind, he never saw the king in person so he wasn’t exactly sure what he looked like.  
  
The Royal Knights and Ezekiel bowed in the presence of the king “Please stand.” The king said and the knights stood up in unison “I have a very important task for you all...The safety of the entire Kingdom depends on the completion of this task.” 

The knights all looked at each other and then at the King with a look of shock "W-What do you mean your majesty!?" Gerald asked in shock

"A threat is gathering its demonic strength and waiting to destroy everything." His majesty said "Many scouts have been looking into a cave nearby that has been getting many suspicious visitors lately…." 

"So you want us to go and take care of them?" Dylan asked "Your majesty just point us in the right direction and it shall be done!" 

"Ever the excited one Dylan, you haven't even introduced yourself to the new recruit that will be with us in our mission." Joseph said 

Dylan looked at Ezekiel “Ah right...My name is Dylan Branford!” He said with a cocky smirk “I trust you’ve heard many of my heroic deeds but please, there is no need to-”

“....I don’t know who you are….” Ezekiel said looking at him with a deadpan expression “Sorry…” 

Gerald burst out laughing at Ezekiel's reaction “I figured as much, Dylan here is a recent addition to the Royal Knights.” He explained “He’s been helping defend a few villages outside of the Kingdom.”  
  
Joseph nodded at this “Right, he even managed to kill two Orc Warchiefs that have been raiding and killing a lot of people.” He added 

Ezekiel's eyes widened when Joseph said that “Oh wait!” He said in realization “The knight who Conquered Grahl and Zarfela! That was you sir Dylan?”   
  
“Yes! It was a great feat that I had accomplished myself!” Dylan said with a smirk before he then returned his attention back to the king “So your majesty this cave that you spoke of where exactly is it?” 

“It is outside the town walls.” King Lawrence said before he sighed “The scouts will lead you to it since it’s not too far…However the four of you should be very careful...This will not be an easy task.”

“If it were going to be an easy task then you wouldn't need to ask us to go.” Joseph responded with a smile “But I must ask your majesty why are we bringing Ezekiel with us exactly? You never told us why.”  
  
“Ah yes Ezekiel please step forward.” King Lawrence said as his gaze now fell on the young knight. Ezekiel walked forward looking at the king in confusion “I have heard much about what you have done for the Kingdom of Lograth. Growing up outside of the kingdom and then training to become a knight just to help protect those in need…"

The king then smiled at Ezekiel "I must say I'm quite impressed with how far you've come...Which is why I want you to prove just how far you have come as a knight." King Lawrence said "I want you to help the Royal Knights complete this important task and then when all is done, you will be welcomed into their ranks!"

Ezekiel's eyes widened at this “T-Thank you your majesty! I promise not to fail you!” He said as he bowed, the excitement of possibly being able to be one of the Royal Knights etched onto the young man's face.

“I’m sure you'll do your best...Now you all are dismissed.” King Lawrence said before the knights bowed again and then left the throne room.

“Alright then let’s set out.” Gerald said with a smile as the four walked toward the front of the castle.

“Umm…Wait hold on.” Ezekiel said as he looked at the three “Where are your weapons?”

“Oh right he doesn’t know about the forge does he?” Joseph asked Gerald 

“Ah right well this is a great time to show him since we have to retrieve our weapons from there.” Gerald said chuckling before he looked at Ezekiel “We have a special forge here in the castle where the Royal Knights arms are kept and worked on by a very special blacksmith.”

“Wow, this Blacksmith must be very good…” Ezekiel said amazed at the castle having it’s own forge.

“Yep she’s definitely a great aid to us. Her work is one of a kind.” Joseph said smiling “Without her work we might not have been able to survive most fights.”

“Her?” Ezekiel asked a little surprised as the group stopped in front of a large black door 

“Yep, what did you expect a wise old blacksmith or something?” Dylan asked with a smirk “Don’t let her hear that.” 

“Actually yeah if she heard that she would raise hell…” Joseph said sighing as he then opened the door “Erika? Are you in here?” 

The sound of loud clanging was heard as the group entered the forge, it was only really lit by the windows and the fire that came from the forge itself but to the right of the flames was a tall dark skinned woman was a very voluptuous yet muscular figure she had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, amber eyes, she wore a brown apron and under it she had white wrappings around her chest to cover it, she wore some worn brown pants and black shoes.

The woman who Ezekiel assumed to be Erika was hammering away at a piece of iron “Hey Erika!” Dylan called out to the woman “Are our weapons ready?” 

Erika stopped hammering and turned to look at the four knights “Yeah they’re on the table...Hm?” She asked as her eyes fell onto Ezekiel who was in awe of the woman “Who’s he and why is he gawking at me?” 

Ezekiel blushed before he shook his head and bowed “S-Sorry! My name is Ezekiel Morrow it’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am!” He said as his head was still down as he bowed 

Erika looked at Ezekiel in confusion before he looked at Gerald “Explain.”  
  
Gerald chuckled at this “This young man here is journeying with us to help us vanquish a great evil according to his majesty.” He said “If we succeed then Ezekiel here will be promoted into the ranks of the Royal Knights.” 

“Ohh…” Erika said looking at Ezekiel who now made sure to look Erika dead in the eyes even if it was very hard to “...Now that I think about it I heard something about a young knight from out of the kingdom coming here… So what have you done to get this chance?”  
  
“W-well I haven’t really done much, just helped out where I could and just kept working hard.” Ezekiel said with a grin before scratching the back of his head. 

Erika smiled when he said that “...Heh well then looks like your hard work has finally paid off.” She said as the three Royal Knights grabbed their weapons, Gerald wielded a large steel axe with a red gem on the bottom, Joseph wielded a steel double bladed staff with two blue gems on both ends , and Dylan wielded a steel word with a gold gem in the middle of the hilt.

“Wow you weren’t kidding when you said her craftsmanship is top notch…” Ezekiel said looking at their weapons before he looked at Erika with a grin “Hey Erika do you think you could make a sword and some armor when I become a Royal Knight.” 

“Of course, it’s my job after all.” Erika said with a smile, “Just come back alive alright and I’ll get to work on it.” 

Ezekiel nodded “Then I’ll be seeing you very soon then!” He said “I don’t plan on dying yet!” 

“Well if you two are done planning ahead let’s get going now.” Joseph said smiling a bit at the two.

“Right well then see ya soon!” Ezekiel said as the group left the forge and set out to meet with the scouts that had found the cave.

* * *

_ *2 hours later* _

The four knights arrived at the cave outside with the help of the scouts that had found it earlier, to make the travel a bit faster they rode horses “Well this definitely looks like a very ominous cave where dark forces would gather…” Dylan said sighing “Why can’t they pick a place that’s nice and fancy for once?” 

“Then they wouldn't be dark forces if they did that.” Ezekiel said as he got off of the horse he rode along with the rest of the knights before he looked at the two scouts “So did you guys actually go inside and see what was going on?” 

“Hell no what do we look like!?” One of the scouts a female said “Our only job is to look around and report it to the king!” 

The second scout, a male nodded “Right sorry man but whatever the hell is in their it’s your job to kill it.” He said “We did see a group of four people walk in with a strange purple crystal.” 

“Purple crystal?” Joseph asked before he began thinking “Hmm…”  
  
“Well I guess we’ll have to find out ourselves! Thank you both for bringing us here.” Gerald said to the scouts before they both nodded and left on their own horses “Well then lads! Let’s get going!” 

“You seem very excited all of the sudden Sir Gerald.” Ezekiel said “Any particular reason?”  
  
“I haven’t been able to get a good fight for awhile! The chance that we could be fighting has gotten me riled up!” Gerald said laughing 

“Careful old man don’t need you having a heart attack in the middle of battle.” Dylan joked with a smirk as the four walked inside of the cave. Joseph quickly took out a lantern that he had brought along and lit it so that the group could see where they were going.

“You should be careful too Dylan you don’t want your ego to get you killed now…” Joseph said looking at Dylan.

“Alright i get it.” Dylan responded before he looked ahead of them and saw a strange purple glow “Hey…You think that might be coming from our group with the purple crystal?” 

Ezekiel looked at the glow before drawing his sword just in case “Not sure but we should be careful…”

Gerald nodded before he looked at Ezekiel's sword “...Ezekiel do you not have a gem on your sword?” He asked him 

“Eh? No why?” Ezekiel asked “Actually why do you guys have them on your weapons?” 

“Wow he doesn’t know? Then again I guess you wouldn’t really have encountered stuff like this.” Dylan said he said “The gems in our weapons help us amplify our strength and even give us the ability to use certain magic abilities without having to learn from a book.”

Joseph nodded at this as they approached the light carefully “Correct, you can even equip it them to armor if you wish and use their power that way…Hm?” As the group approached the light and rounded the corner where it was coming from they saw that the purple light wasn’t coming from the crystal like they thought but from strange vines that were on the caves walls “What the heck?” 

“...These vines...They must be side effects of the crystal.” Gerald said as he took out his axe and struck one of the vines with it only to find out the vines weren’t actually vines, they were solid. “Well now, think they might be trying to make a place where they can harvest the power of the crystal?” 

“Possibly, it seems like that would be the best guess…” Joseph said before he put out the lanterns fire and placed it on his hip again “Well at least we can see around the cave now…”

“Yeah but that means we need to be careful too.” Ezekiel said “If we’re not careful they could see us coming from a mile away.” 

“Good observation.” Gerald said smiling a bit as they continued to walk following the vines carefully, as the walked deeper into the cave they began hearing voices and the sound of someone crying “Careful…”

“D-Dammit...This wasn’t supposed to happen...Wasn't supposed to happen.” The voice of a Woman said as she wept “Gods help us…” 

The group moved over behind a large rock formation that was nearby before they looked over it to see what was going on.

What the four knights saw were two people, a woman and a little girl both of them looked...Sick, their skin a strange pale color with strange black spots they were on the ground near a ledge. However they weren’t the only two there.

Behind them there were two dead bodies of an older man and woman that had the same sick looking skin “It looks like they need help!” Ezekiel said as he got out of the hiding spot.

“H-Hey wait!” Dylan said bit Ezekiel ignored him as he walked over to the two “Ah dammit let’s follow him.” 

“Um, excuse me…” Ezekiel said as he approached the woman and the little girl. The woman had medium length black hair and blue eyes and the girl had the same “Are you two alright?”

“Wait who are you?” The woman asked rather than answering his question before she saw Dylan, Joseph and Gerald walking over “Oh bless the gods! The king has sent people to save us!”

The little girl looked up at the four knights, she had a look of fear in her eyes and she didn’t say anything at all, it was like she was in shock for some reason.

“Yes he has.” Joseph said smiling at the two “Ma’am what happened here? We got reports of four people walking in here with a purple crystal.”  
  
“Yes...We all came here to hide that damn thing…” The woman said before she began violently coughing “....It’s a cursed object that crystal...It...It made us like this.” 

“Cursed object?” Ezekiel asked before he realized what she could be talking about “Y-You mean like dark magic?” 

Dylan, Joseph and Gerald looked at Ezekiel and the woman “...Dark magic huh…” Gerald said sighing “Well the King was right about something evil being here...Where is the crystal now?” 

The woman turned to the dead body of the older man with grey hair “It’s in his hand...But we have to get rid of it.” 

“No we take it back to the king.” Joseph said as he walked over and took the strange purple crystal from the old man's dead hand before he looked over the ledge and saw that there was a ravine down below. He then redirected his attention at the woman “It is very important.”

“Wait hold on a second.” Ezekiel said looking at Joseph now with a concerned look on his face “I heard about cursed objects...Shouldn’t they be destroyed? Why bring it to the king?” 

“Because...It’s our mission.” Joseph said looking at Ezekiel with a more hostile glare as he pocketed the crystal and then took out his double blade lance and pointed it at Ezekiel.

“W-What?” Ezekiel asked “Are you crazy!? Our mission was to stop the evil from growing and attacking the kingdom what nonsense are you-”

It happened so suddenly, Ezekiel was yelling at Joseph and right before he could even finish his sentence...He felt it...Something piercing through his left side from behind before it was thrusted even deeper and came out the front “GAAAGH!!” Ezekiel yelled in pain as he coughed up blood and looked down to see a steel sword pierce through his left side, he slowly turned his head around to see who it was that had attacked him from behind, but deep down he already knew who it was “...D-Dylan?”

Dylan looked at Ezekiel with a smirk “Ah man it looks like it’s the end of your heroic mission huh?” He said chuckling before he took the sword out of Ezekiel's side roughly causing him to fall to the ground, dropping his sword and hold his left side with his hands “Hmph…”

“Y-You...W-Why?” Ezekiel asked as he looked at Dylan and then saw Gerald walking over “W-What’s going on?” 

“...Sorry, but we need you three to die.” Gerald said, his usual caring voice now gone and replaced with a more cruel one “Your deaths will fuel the crystals power.”  
  
The woman's eyes widened before she grabbed her daughter and tried to make a run for it, however their escape was quickly halted by Joseph who through his lance like a javelin and managed to hit the woman causing her to fall over from the lance hitting her back “M-Mom!” The little girl said as she looked at her mother and started shaking her “Mom please g-get up…”

“No...You need to run before-” As the mother tried to warn her daughter to run Gerald walked over behind her brandishing his axe before he swung downward at the woman's head cutting it wide open and spewing blood everywhere 

“S-STOP!” Ezekiel yelled before coughing up more blood as he tried to stand up “W-What the hell are you three doing!?”  
  
“Our job.” Joseph said before he noticed the crystals glow getting brighter “His majesty wanted us to find the crystal and deliver it to him…”

“Correct.” Gerald said before he looked at the little girl who was frozen in fear “...Our mission is the retrieve the crystal and generate enough power into it by giving sacrifices…” 

“Wait...So you knew!?” Ezekiel asked as he looked at them his vision getting more blurry as he was continuously losing blood “You knew they had the crystal...That this would happen…B-But why choose me?”

“...The gentle knight who helps everyone in need, a soul filled with pure light.” Dylan said smirking 

Ezekiel looked at them in confusion before his attention went right back to Gerald who now stood and lifted his axe again “STOP DAMMIT!!” 

However he was ignored and as soon as the little girl tried to get up and run Gerald swung his axe downward cutting the poor girl in half, her insides and blood leaking profusely. “If it didn’t work the first time why do you think it would the second?” Dylan asked laughing at the look of devastation on Ezekiel's face.

“...Y...You all are supposed to be heroes...To the kingdom…” Ezekiel said as he managed to stand up again however it was obvious he wasn’t going to be much of a threat “Why...Why do this!?” 

“Hmph...This is coming from a boy who read a book about the great stories of knights…” Gerald said looking at Ezekiel “We do what we must to protect this kingdom, obtaining this power will make Lograth the most powerful kingdom in the land! This crystal is just the first step!”

“The power will make all of us stronger and we’ll be able to make others submit easily.” Joseph said looking at Ezekiel.

“With that power we can make people do whatever we want them too.” Dylan said “Hell with that power I’d make any woman I want to submit themselves to me!”

“You all...Are the worst…” Ezekiel said glaring at them the best he could with his vision becoming even blurrier than before 

“Enough of this.” Dylan said before he charged at Ezekiel once more and stabbing him again “Goodbye...Hope the afterlife treats ya well!” Dylan said before he then kicked Ezekiel off of his sword pushing him back and causing Ezekiel to fall off the ledge and down to the ravine.

Suddenly the crystal began glowing even brighter before Joseph took it out of his pocket “...This should be enough…” He said “Let’s go…”

Dylan nodded before seeing Ezekiel's sword before kicking it off the edge as well “Hmph...Poor fool…”

_“Why....This...This has to be a dream…” _Ezekiel said in his mind as he fell into the ravine _“The Royal Knights, the protectors of this kingdom…The King…All of them...They’re…_**_THE_** **_WORST._**_”_

Ezekiel fell further before he hit a couple of rocks on the way down and landed in the river that was in the ravine, his sword then followed landing behind him a bit. Both carried by the rivers current further into the cave....The young knights now lifeless body floating away….  
  
_ “...Poor thing...You have been dealt a cruel fate…This is not right...Not right at all. These people plan to awaken a great evil just for power so they can rule over all...Taking the lives of innocent people just to fuel their own plan...This isn’t right... _ ** _Something must be done.”_ **


	2. Gone Awhile

_“Ghh ...Huh?” Ezekiel asked as he looked around at where he was, however it didn’t help much due to the fact that a pitch lack abyss surrounded him “W-Where am I?” _

_“You pathetic fool...Did you really think that you were going to be one of us?” The voice of Dylan said from the dark abyss “I wouldn’t want to be seen with trash such as yourself!”_

_Ezekiel looked around “D-Dylan!?” He asked in shock as he looked around to try and see where the voice came from “W-Where are you traitor!? I’ll make you pay for-” _

_Suddenly a sharp pain was felt in his left side and he quickly grabbed at it before seeing that his left side was bleeding “Wha...N-No…” _

_The sound of laughter filled the dark abyss before more voices were heard. “A kind soul is a useless thing to have, a knight should be ruthless and cunning...Making sure to do anything to get the job done.” The voice of Joseph said _

_“N-No you’re wrong!” Ezekiel said before he fell to his knees again “...Why...Why are you doing this!?”_

_“We do this because we want to, the king knows best for Lograth and we will do anything to see to it that his plans come to fruition.” Gerald's voice said as his ax suddenly appeared above two silhouettes before they too became visible, it was the little girl and her mother._

_“You let us die…” The mother said, “You could have stopped them ...You let us die…” _

_Suddenly Dylan's sword and Joseph's lance appeared next to Gerald's ax “You let us die…” The little girl said before all three weapons swung downward at the two._

_“NO STOP!”_

* * *

“STOP!!!” Ezekiel yelled as he quickly sat up and reached his arm out to stop the three but quickly realized that something wasn’t right “...Huh? W-Where…” He took a moment to look around at his surroundings and noticed that he wasn’t in the cave anymore, he then looked down to see that he wasn’t wearing his gear and was naked from the top...However that wasn’t his main concern as he was looking at his body, not his main concern now was the very visible wound that Dylan's sword left when he stabbed him.

“T-That’s not possible…” Ezekiel said as he touched the wound and felt his skin with his right hand before going to feel his heartbeat and was surprised to find out that it was beating normally “I’m alive? But that’s impossible...I remember Dylan stabbing me...Twice...Then I fell off the ledge and down the ravine.” He looked around again before noticing that the room he was in was quite Gothic looking…

“I need to get out of here...Huh?” Ezekiel asked as he got out of the bed and stood up before almost falling over “W-Woah...My legs feel a bit wobbly…” He made sure to carefully move his legs over to the nearby closet before he opened it to see a tan shirt “Well it’ll do but what happened to my old clothes?” He asked as he then put on the shirt before carefully making his way over to the door and opened it only to be greeted by a man wearing an all black suit with a purple tie and white undershirt with white skin, he had red irises and the whites of his eyes were black unlike normal human eyes “W-Who are-” 

“Ezekiel Morrow...We have been waiting for you to finally wake up and rejoin the living.” The man said as he looked at Ezekiel with an uncaring gaze “By we I mean my mistress...I do not care for a pathetic human like yourself.” 

“Umm okay, first things first...Who are you and how do you know my name?” Ezekiel asked now, wary of the man that was standing in front of him.

“My name is Karothes….I am a demon.” Karothes simply answered before he crossed his arms “Now that I answered your question let’s go, my mistress is waiting for you.”

“Wait hold on I-” Ezekiel was about to say something but Karothes glared at him and suddenly Ezekiel felt a shiver up his spine “N-Never mind….” 

“Good.” Karothes said as he led Ezekiel down the hall. As the two walked down the hall Ezekiel began noticing just how dark it was wherever they were “Before you ask we haven’t lit the hallway torches yet because it’s daytime.” 

“Could have fooled me…” Ezekiel said as he walked with Karothes “Why don’t you just open the curtains here in the hall?” 

“...It’s early in the morning.” Karothes said glancing back behind him “I honestly didn’t think you’d be awake during this time so I decided to keep the curtains closed and not light the torches so it wouldn’t disturb the other residents.” 

“Makes sense...But...Where is here exactly?” Ezekiel asked, he had wanted to ask that question before when back at the room but didn’t due to Karothes’s glare.

“You will find out soon enough.” Karothes said as the two made it to the end of the hall and The demon man opened the door and when he did the two were greeted by the sight of a large dining room table with a single woman sitting at the far end of it “...Mistress the human is awake.”

The woman had long silver curly hair, pale white skin like a vampire, she had medium sized breasts, and her eyes had a dark purple hue to them. She looked like she was in her thirties possibly and wore a black low cut dress that showed off her breasts cleavage with black heels. “Oh? Good...It’s about time.” The older woman said as she drank some of the wine she had in her glass “Come and sit next to me Ezekiel, there’s much to discuss…” 

Ezekiel looked at the woman and approached her cautiously before he sat down to her right “...Okay I have a lot of questions.” He said 

“Oh I know you do...However first things first, you must be hungry.” The older woman said and true to her assumption, Ezekiel's stomach let out a loud growl that shocked even himself “...Karothes if you’d be a dear and get the chef and maids to bring us a banquet?”

“Yes ma’am.” Karothes siad “Would you like me to open the curtains as well so you’d have some light?” 

“Yes please.” The older woman replied and Karothes walked over to the curtains and the moment Ezekiel blinked the curtains were all opened in and Karothes was out of the room 

“W-What the…” Ezekiel said as he looked outside and saw that there was barely any light outside “...I thought it was morning…” 

“It is...That’s just how the sky is nowadays, young knight.” The older woman said “Oh hells, I'm sorry I haven't even told you my name haven’t I?” 

“No you haven’t.” Ezekiel said as he looked back at her now 

“Well, my name is Marina Hellwihtz.” She said introducing herself with an oddly kind smile “Welcome to my manor.”

“...That’s an odd last name…” Ezekiel said looking at her with a nervous smile 

Marina chuckled “Ah yes I’ve been told that by a lot of people, young knight.” She said and smiled at him “But I am a demon so it does fit, anyways you’re probably wondering how you came back to life.” 

“Yeah, I was stabbed and fell off of a cliff in a cave.” Ezekiel said as he crossed his arms “I remember hitting every damn rock on the way down so I really should be dead...So what happened?”

“I brought you back, one of my knights had found your body and using my own powers, I took a look and saw how you died.” Marina explained “It was horrible what happened, humans can be such savages...More so than us demons at times.” 

“...That’s a bit debatable.” Ezekiel said before he shook his head “A-Anyways why did you bring me back exactly? You can’t expect me to believe that it was out of the goodness of your heart?’

“Why not?” Marina asked “Not all demons are heartless creatures! That’s just our lower kind...Most of the time..” 

“Sure…” Ezekiel said, he didn’t believe her at all and honestly who would if they were revived by a mysterious demon lady for seemingly no reason. “Well i’ll leave it alone for now...How long have I been out exactly? Two days? A week?” 

“...About that.” Marina said as she looked at him and her expression changed to that of a depressed one “...Longer than that..” 

“A month?” Ezekiel asked and Marina just shook her head “...Two months?” 

“Try one year you unlucky soul.” A new voice said as the doors behind Marina's chair opened and a woman wearing black armor and carrying a large sword on her back. She had short black hair that had a few red streaks in it, white skin and a few scars on her face, one across her nose, an X-shaped mark on her left cheek, three tallied claw mark on her right cheek “Sorry to break it to ya like that.” 

Ezekiel looked at this new woman in both shock and confusion “W-What do you mean one year!?” He asked “T-That can’t be! W-Why one year!?” 

Marina looked at the armored woman and sighed “...Gina did you have to walk in and say it so bluntly?” Marina asked her with an annoyed look on her face “Besides I thought you were on guard for today?” 

“I apologize mistress but I figure it would be better to give it to him straight away and not wait around.” Gina said as she bowed and then looked at Ezekiel “Again sorry to tell ya like that but it’s the truth...As for why...Well..” 

“There were many setbacks including the king himself and his knights…” Marina said “Your body took a long time to be repaired and your soul was also in fragments...Needless to say it was a very rough time bringing you back.”

“...Then why go through all that trouble?” Ezekiel asked once more “That’s way too much just for it to be out of the kindness of your heart like you keep saying…”

“...Well...It started out as a favor…” Marina said with a sigh “But then it turned into more than that.” 

“A favor? To who?” Ezekiel asked 

“...Your mother.” Marina said with a small smile “She and I go way back...But I doubt that you know about what she used to do..” 

“...You’re correct about that.” Ezekiel said, he was shocked that his mother would know a demon, especially the one he was talking to now “How did you know her?”

“Your mother was an adventurer, she went around the land looking for treasure and fighting monsters and even humans when she had to.” Marina explained “During one of her many adventures I met her after she managed to kill my own minions...Make no mistake that they weren’t weak like little imps, they were three demonized Minotaurs which could quite easily take off your head and instead of killing your mother, she was able to kill them with ease.”

Gina smirked at that “Sounds like my kind of woman.” She said chuckling a bit 

Marina chuckled a bit as well “She certainly was an amazing woman….I was shocked by her not killing me when we first met and instead let me surrender instead of losing my life.”

“So that’s why you owe her?” Ezekiel asked, he was amazed by Marinas story...Her mother was a adventurer. He never knew much about his parents and was happy to know at least about his mother.

“Yes, I traveled with her on some of her adventures but I never got to properly thank her in any way.” Marina said finishing the story “At any rate your revival was supposed to be me just returning a favor until I saw how you died…”

Ezekiel looked at her “I’m guessing it has something to do with the crystals?” 

“Exactly, those types of crystals have been leaking from the demon realm into the human realm.” Marina said sighing “Me and a few other demons have been chosen to help out with the retrieval of the crystals. However the King has made it his damn mission to horde the crystals and meld them together into a bigger one and use it to give his knights unspeakable power.” 

“Yeah some of his knights have also taken smaller crystals or rather crystal fragments and fitted them to their armor and weapons.” Gina said “Using those instead of gems.” 

“Huh...I guess the crystals are the only things that hold the demonic power…” Ezekiel said as he began thinking “But...Do you really think I'll be of any help to you? I’m not as skilled as most of the other knights or my mother now that I've learned how strong she was.” 

“That is where you’re wrong.” Marina said smiling at Ezekiel said “While I was poking around at your soul I saw the light inside of you...Felt how strong it was and saw your life so far leading up to your death.” 

“A-And?” Ezekiel asked 

“There is a tremendous amount of power hidden deep within you…” Marina said “And now you have power that I have given to you as well as a few other...Perks.” 

“...J-Just what the hell do you mean by perks!?” Ezekiel asked, not liking the last thing that she said “A-And what power?” 

“Well the perks you’ll find out a bit yourself when you go back to your room.” Marina said as she chuckled before she then had a serious look on her face “As for the power...I have given you the power of darkness, before you complain about it the power will be yours to control through training like Gina here.” 

Ezekiel looked at Gina “That’s right, don’t worry it won’t kill you or take over your body...If you can repel it’s temptations.” She said with a smirk 

“...Very reassuring…” Ezekiel said with a sigh before Karothes came back in along with a few maids who carried food and drinks for the three 

“Enough talk now! Let us eat and celebrate your revival young knight!” Marina said as she and Gina quickly began getting their food and drink after it was all sat on the table.

Ezekiel did the same but even though he was glad to be back and so thankful to Marina...He still had a bad feeling, a feeling of dread...After about an hour had past and they were done eating Ezekiel then thought of one last question to ask the demonic woman “...Where exactly are we?” 

“You are in my mansion of course….Oh….Wait..” Marina said answering his question but when she did so she realized that the young knight meant where was the mansion located “W-Well it’s-” 

“Mistress.” Karothes said “Would you like me and lady Gina to escort him outside for some fresh air?” 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Gina said, however the tone of her voice betrayed what she said. She sounded sad.

“R-Right, you two should do so.” Marina said looking down away from Ezekiel's eyes.

Ezekiel looked at the three with a confused expression on his face as Gina and Karothes motioned for him to follow them “O-Okay…” He said as he got up from his chair and followed them. They walked out of the dining room before they walked into the front entrance hall, Ezekiel stayed silent before Karothes opened the door.

Once Karothes had opened the front door the three walked outside “Jeez you all weren’t kidding about the sky looking like this..” Ezekiel said as he looked at the dark cloudy sky “Guessing this is due to the darkness building up in the kingdom from those crystals?”

“Yes…” Karothes answered “There’s more.” 

Ezekiel looked at him before he then directed his eyes to what was in front of them now. It was a village, one that looked like it had been the center of a large bloody battle. The houses looked to have suffered major damage, some looked like they were burned to the ground in the fight. Ezekiel then noticed that while the village looked lit it had been abandoned, there were still people living there, however they looked ill. 

“W-What happened here?” Ezekiel asked as he looked around 

“Dylan and the other so-called Holy Knights came and started taking sacrifices.” Gina said “Or in Dylan's case he started taking women to make his own...While killing their husbands and sons.” 

“T-That’s horrible!” Ezekiel said in anger “So you’re saying that they just chose a random village to take sacrifices and women from for their own devices!?” 

“This village was not picked at random.” Karothes said as he looked at Ezekiel “Tell me young Ezekiel….Do you not recognize this place?” 

Ezekiel looked at him in confusion before he then returned his gaze back to the village and noticed something familiar. A tree that stood in the middle of the village, it had a bunch of carvings on its base and on the branches it had many charms on them down due to how old it was now. Ezekiel walked over to the Tree and saw that the carvings were names there were many of them written on the tree “....The mourning tree….I...This is…” The young knight fell onto his knees 

“...This is...Was your home.” Karothes said “Now it is a place where a tragic raid took place killing many of its inhabitants and while others still live their souls have left them and they’re nos just empty walking husks.” 

Ezekiel looked in horror now, the once beautiful village of Haven now reduced to nothing but a deathly reminder of what had happened “....Gina?”

“Yes?” Gina asked looking at Ezekiel with worry “What is it?” 

“How long did it take to learn the power of darkness that Marina gave me?” The young knight asked 

“Well it took me four months why?” Gina asked

“...I’ll do it in one.” Ezekiel said as he then stood up with his fists clenched hard 

“You can’t be serious.” Karothes said as he crossed his arms “You expect to learn to fully control it in one month? You’ll get yourself either killed again or have the very same darkness take over your body.” 

“I don’t plan on dying again.” Ezekiel said “As for it taking over my body that won’t happen either, I don’t care if I have to train every single day and put my body through the harshest conditions...I will do it….I have to do it, not just for me...But for the ones whose lives have been taken from them for the benefit of others vile pleasures.. ” 

Ezekiel then turned around, his eyes were red and tears flowed down his cheek from them “I will kill them all...I don’t care what happens to me in the process but I will kill all of them!” 

Karothes looked at him in shock, he hadn’t met a human much like Ezekiel in his time of living and even found Marinas tales of the kind adventure that she met to be false in his own mind...However as he looked at Ezekiel he saw something...Something dark but also something bright “...Maybe you could be the one…” Karothes said 

“H-Huh?” Ezekiel asked looking at the demon butler 

“N-Nothing, well them if you truly wish to learn everything in one month we should go inside and get started...Miss Gina has a lot of work to do to get you in shape for your journey.” Karothes said 

“W-Wait hold on we’re really doing this?!” Gina asked in disbelief, like Ezekiel she was human and it took her four months to master the power of darkness that she was given so she wasn’t sure about going with Ezekiel's plan. However she sighed and looked at the two and saw that they weren’t going to back down from this “Fine okay but don’t blame me if this shit goes wrong!” 

Ezekiel then smiled at the two of them “Thank you...Really..” He said, bowing “I won’t disappoint you!” 

The three then walked back inside of the mansion little did they know however that Marina was watching them from her room on the second floor of the mansion “...I can feel it, he’ll be a great help to us when his training is complete.” 

_**“You better hope so...That bastard king must be stopped…”**_ A booming male voice said from a lone mirror in the room with Marina _**“You choosing a human to help doesn’t please me one bit Marina, you should have picked more demons and taken them out yourselves!”**_

“No, like I said I owed a favor.” Marina said as she drank from the wine class that she had that was filled with wine of course. “Besides you’ve seen it yourself...His soul is special...the power that resides in it could help us turn the tide of this battle that we’re losing against the human and even Master says it’s a good idea.”

_**“Yes well maybe he’s just getting too old to see the error in this decision.” **_The male voice said 

“Watch your filthy tongue Neirl!” Marina said now glaring at the mirror “That type of talk will have you thrown out of the High Court and have you slithering with the filth in the lower realm!” 

_**“M-My apologies! It’s just...I grow worried about him….This whole situation has taken a large toll on him.”**_ The male demon Neirl said _**“Anyways I have to get going...I’ll keep you updated with things that are going on here…Stay safe.”**_

“I shall.” Marina asked as the mirror then cracked and the demon woman sighed “Must the mirrors always crack after use?” She then looked back out of the window and looked at the sky.

This is the true beginning of the tale...The tale of a young knight who came back from the dead to get revenge on those who have wronged him and so many others. The young knight's journey will take him to many places and meet many other people, some who like him have been wronged by the King and his “Holy” Order.

This is a tale that will change the kingdom forever.


End file.
